The superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education, Tony Sanders, has a plan to address underperforming schools, as designated by the state’s annual Report Card.

“We’ve been working on rethinking our statewide system of support for the school districts that are really struggling the most,” Sanders said Thursday, “so we’ll be announcing in the next few months some strategies that we’re going to be taking at the state board level to really rethink how we are supporting schools and school districts that are either in targeted or comprehensive status.”

Sanders also says learning loss because of pandemic-era e-learning will be a concern for years to come.

In addition to leading school districts, and now the state’s school board, Sanders relaxes with his habit of … doodling.

“I’ve always done it, all the way thru school. When you look at my binders or notepads, I was always doodling,” he said. “Every time a teacher was lecturing. Sometimes I would get in trouble for doing it; sometimes I wouldn’t, but I still do it to this day.”

His work was published as a coloring book for a fund-raiser while he was superintendent of Elgin schools.